Staff Reviews

Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship

Review by Sam Cleeve

At times full of nervous vigour, at others letting itself fall blindly backwards into honeyed daydream, A Different Ship has a life and character all of its own.»

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the nigel godrich produced 'a different ship' is here we go magic's most remarkable and captivating album yet, with an emotional and musical arc that is alternately calming and anxiety-inducing, and often both at once. 'i believe in action' and 'make up your mind' sound like they're being beamed in from outer space, while more earthbound tracks such as 'miracle of mary,' 'over the ocean' and 'alone but moving' amble in a somnolent haze, with temple's cool timbre cutting through the fog. they began tracking in los angeles last spring, getting to know godrich and adapting to a style of recording that asked something new of them. previously, their approach had been similar to how temple used to record the earliest here we go magic songs on his own four-track. his inspiration was to build part upon part, never looking back, layering intuitive reactions one on top of the other until they would all snap into an energetic cohesion, the ghosts of previous ideas still swimming beneath the shimmering veneer of a song. the band's approach to playing and recording together has always had this as its backdrop, and they have often described even their live set as an opportunity to re-create such a process, each night sculpting the songs anew. for 'a different ship', they hoped to still capture this kind of reactivity, while also refining their ability to let a song's most basic elements speak. after the la sessions, the band retreated to a house in upstate new york where they could swim in a lake and jam without the pressure of a studio clock. by the time they rejoined godrich in his london studio last fall they were bursting with new ideas, and the songs just started flowing.
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